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Northern Lights

As our film heritage becomes more and more digitized, it is harder and harder for audiences to see important films in the manner in which they were originally meant to be presented: in a theater, on film, with an audience. Film History 101 is our modest attempt to keep this tradition alive. Once a month, we'll present a selection that transcends "classic" status to that of "essential"—films that are widely recognized as among the greatest the art of moving pictures has to offer.

Blurring the line between historical fiction and documentary, Northern Lights recounts the struggle of North Dakota grain farmers who collectively form the Nonpartisan League in 1915–16 to fight for better prices from area elevators controlled by banks and railroads. An actual member of the league, 94-year-old Henry Martinson, sets the film in motion, paging through a diary at the beginning of the film. Winner of the Caméra d’Or for best direction for a first feature at the Cannes Film Festival, it remains one of the landmark films of the American independent movement of the 1970s and 80s. New 35mm print courtesy Artists Public Domain/Cinema Conservancy. (95 mins., 35mm)